Judge Rejects Right To Work Challenge

AFL-CIO attorney Andrew Nickelhoff says the case will continue against Michigan's "Right To Work" law

Credit Wikimedia Commons

DETROIT - A judge has rejected a challenge to a key portion of a Michigan law that allows workers to have a job without giving financial support to a union.

Detroit federal Judge Stephen Murphy III says so-called right-to-work laws "are a valid exercise" of state power. He ruled Monday in a lawsuit against the state of Michigan by the Michigan AFL-CIO.

Murphy upheld a part of the 2013 law that forbids making union support a condition for employment. He says it's not trumped by federal law. At the same time, the judge refused to dismiss other parts of the union's lawsuit.